Our Reporter
The vice-presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential poll, Peter Gregory Obi and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State have opened their minds on the 2023 presidency. While Obi, who is a former governor of Anambra State, said he would contest for the office if the party zoned the ticket to the South, Wike debunked rumours that he plans to be running mate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Obi said he was capable of turning around the fortunes of the country, but would wait on the decision of the PDP before declaring his intention.
According to him “All the elections that I followed in the past, the party that I belong today, the PDP made a pronouncement and took a stand. At least in 2019 when I was involved, where I can say Atiku graciously chose me as his running mate which I remain eternally grateful to him for, the party decided that the candidate should come from the North and that was what the party decided. And I believe that the party owes it a duty to say what their stand is.
“If their stand today is south, be assured I am aspiring, if they say North, I can’t do otherwise or they chose the option that everybody is free, then, of course, you will be hearing from me.”
Obi while affirming his commitment to building a better Nigeria, advised all and sundry to choose a candidate who is competent and most importantly has integrity.
“What we are looking for in this country today are people of integrity, people of conscience, less greedy people. Educational qualification is not a measure of integrity; it doesn’t guarantee that somebody is less greedy or that people have a conscience,” he said.
He added, “I have seen people here acquire what they don’t need. I saw it while I was serving. To fight corruption here, you need somebody who has integrity, who is not greedy, who has conscience. If you have that, fighting corruption is easy, because, if you, who is in charge is not stealing, you will reduce stealing by 50 to 70 per cent.
“And it is critical that you have somebody who is like that. It is not when people are acquiring lands, houses, everything they don’t need; they want to live a lifestyle that is far beyond the economy of Nigeria, far beyond their earnings, that is why the place is collapsing. That is why we have insecurity. That is why we have poverty. We need to manage the costs efficiently and these are the critical areas as you people know as you look for people who will govern the country in the future
On his part, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who dispelled insinuations about him being the running mate of presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar said no such agreement had been reached between him and any politician. He said that at the appropriate time, members of the party in the southern region would speak in one voice about their decision.
